Page 90 of Home Game

Bianca sounded disappointed. “I understand none of this, Ryan. I’m only trying to help you.”

Fuck me. We should have hired the older lady who liked to give out hugs.

“Listen, can you go easy on her?”

Bianca threw her hands up in the air. “What about me? Did you ask her to go easy on me?”

“As a matter of fact, I did.”

She crossed her arms. “Fine. I’m sorry. I don’t understand why you let that girl impede your career.”

“No one is impeding my career. This is a fun event, okay? Let’s have fun.”

She took a deep breath. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“I’ll see you upstairs.”

Zoey wassilent on the drive home. I glanced at her a few times, but she remained removed and distant. I felt bad about Bianca’s heavy-handed approach with her. When we pulled into the parkade, I turned off the engine and looked over at her.

“Want to go do something?”

Her cute face reflected her curiosity. “Where?”

I shrugged. “We could go for a walk and grab a bite to eat.”

A smile played on her lips. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

We stood outside a Japanese restaurant,called “Eki.”

“How about here?”

Zoey wrinkled her nose. “No, thanks.”

I laughed. “Come on. Be adventurous.”

“I don’t know how to use chopsticks.”

I put my hands on her slight shoulders and steered her towards the door. “I promise you, you’ll love it.”

The restaurant was one of those open kitchens where there was a grill between the patrons and the chef, and all the servers wore kimonos. Zoey sipped her cocktail that had more fruit in it than a salad and she watched the chef with wide eyes. He juggled his knives, lit towers of onions on fire, and cracked eggs open mid-air with hisspatula. The two of them belonged to the same mutual admiration society, because he seemed to focus all his attention on her, and he cracked cheesy jokes that made her giggle into her hands. When she struggled with her chopsticks, he gave her a special lesson. And when she figured them out, he presented her with a flaming specialty appetizer to celebrate.

I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

“Your boyfriend must love you very much,” he winked at her. “He can’t stop looking at you.”

I took a sip of my beer.Thanks, buddy.

She glanced up at me. “Oh, we’re just friends.”

He clutched his heart and pretended to stagger around. “You made me the happiest man in the world.”

Her smile lit up the entire room. And that smile earned him the biggest tip of his career.

“So, did you like dinner?”We slowly walked back to the apartment.

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